Projects Modified Lakester Build (THUNDERCASKET)

I hit the pedals too. I got them cut around the time I did the back seat (which I had to wait for a new bandsaw blade to finish up). I got them cut down and figured I definitely needed to bend and after trying to find a torch setup that would suit my needs, ended up borrowing one to get the job done. I made a huge mess not getting the flame right at first and boiling out some old lube but I got it good enough after a few tries. I took a few tries on welding the pedals back just right too but I'm not totally committed to that yet. I will know once I hook them up to something and start figuring out if I can actuate the clutch and what I can live with.

I took out 1.75" to start with.




Here is where I'm at now with everything mocked back up. Next task up here is getting the clutch pivot ball mounted under there somehow... and remembering where the "safe place" I put that box is...


I torched the shifter while I was at it. I'm no longer putting my hand into the wheel going through the gears but I'm not sure I am totally happy with it yet. I mocked up my E brake handle location too.

 

Looking good Pat, but I don't think your pup approves.

 

I played around with a similar set-up for the clutch actuation, but then went another direction. I saw a pedal assy that moved the actuator to the right side of the pedal assy and it looked like a sweet set up. Then I priced a reproduction of said pedal assembly and decided there had to be a cheaper way to do it.

First I took the clutch pedal and cut the tab side off the pedal side. That way I could use the same shaft. It has to move in the framework now though, so I ordered some new bushings and will ream out the frame to hold them. That may be overkill? I don't know. Here's the basic set up shown after splitting the pedal.


That moves the actuator tab closer to the transmission.


That allows me to use a different shaft in the transmission and run a more direct set up.


Pictures aren't so great and I haven't got all the angle set up yet but I think it should work

 

HA!...all my “safe places” are protected by a Visual Scrambler...
I have to look right at it 3 times before it materializes!

 

HAH, yeah, he doesn't approve of me not being outside throwing his ball for him is what he doesn't approve of (despite having JUST done that).

That looks familiar. I think I've seen this in your build thread. I'm curious to see how this works out for you.

I like how you notched the subframe to get a fastener into the frame there. I had not crossed that bridge yet!

I ACTUALLY FOUND IT! I shuffled around in there yesterday evening and after close to an hour, almost giving up, i looked and there was a bin I had not looked in, that was in the general area that I had been working on that. Once I dug to the bottom and shuffled around the little tub 3 times I had the ball and the bushings in hand! So those are soaking in some soapy water a spell before I scrub the crud off them. I need to figure out how I want to attach the ball now since it is a bolt on variety and I am not super comfortable using rivnuts for it.

 

Sometime after that in June, needing a quick fix in the shop, I drilled the door and popped a couple rivnuts in to mount this killer side mirror I have been in love with for years. I've had this set aside for ages and never found a perfect match (If you know what this came off of or have one, let me know!) but it HAD to go on this car.

 

Had one of those mirrors on a 1963 International crew cab pickup. I think it was aftermarket.

 

My friend used to call it "shop blind". Yesterday I spent at least a hour searching the shop for the box my new pressure washer pump was in. I gave up and moved on to something else. Walked up to the bench and there was the pump in plain sight not in the box. I wasn't looking for that!

Glad to see the progress. I like your style: Build it, rebuild it, tear it apart, rethink it, change the design, build it, rebuild it.........Always pushing it closer to what works and still fits what you want.

 

Hey Pat, nice progress on the casket. When I put my pedals together I realized that you do not need much "throw" on the clutch pedal for it to actuate. Just a heads up. . . I remade mine a few times before they worked. For me this was the hardest part of my whole build.

 

The funny thing is, I've since added a tab on the frame so I can go back to using the original hole.

 

Thanks, Ron! Yeah, that's lining up with what I am experiencing and being told. My neighbor came by to look at the builds on the 4th while I had the car out in the driveway in the sun. I told him I wasn't quite sure where to focus next and he said I needed to get the clutch pedal set before I could figure the rest out (ergonomics, etc.).

Yesterday I was out there mounting the pivot and discovered how difficult thos was going to be pretty quickly. Once I had everything lined up I discovered that, in fact, I did NOT have everything lined up and I will need to torch the clutch pedal arm back because it's going to interfere now. I also had to find and order an offset clevis yoke because the clutch rod does not line up with the pivot on the pedal anymore.

I don't think I can do that on mine because of where my body sits on the frame. Those holes come in on the edge of the frame. I'd have to cut into the boxing and put a pipe in or something. How did you do yours?

 

On the 4th, I decided that I'd get the car out in the sun and get some pictures to see where I'm at. I discovered that I need to do a lot of fine tuning to get this nose and hood cleaned up. The hood is lumpy and the nose seems off and crooked now. This is going to take a lot of time, so this will be getting moved to the Stage 2 buildup of the car now unfortunately. But here's the pictures, including the new roll bar placement, over the rear crossmember, and the fuel tank mockup. I borrowed the vintage stanchions and lights from the AAVA to stand in here; they are not staying.

 

Realizing the nose needs work, I took some shots running naked and it doesn't look too bad.





I also pulled out those unique mufflers and some (too large) megaphone tips to play around with.

 

The pedal thing will be an issue on mine as well. On the old Chevys the pedal mount on a shaft that bolts to the bell housing. It has no mount to the frame. I have thought of using that but my main bell housing is thin cast aluminum that I don't think is up to the task. A stamped steel housing might be better. Just getting the pivot point to line up so the pedals can drop straight through the floor boards and on the other end do the work. ain't easy. That why real hot rods have 3 pedals.

 

Don't know if this'll help. I took some pictures of my set up, way different than most I've seen but maybe you will get an idea.
Homemade six-member from c channel.
I used a model A shaft and pedals. Drilled and hogged out the channel so I can put shaft through on an angle. this is the backside of the channel, this is welded and pinned to hold shaft.
I fit the pedals on the shaft then made this plate with a small piece of pipe holding this end.
It all comes apart easily for maintenance.
I hope this helps Pat

 

My frame isn't boxed so I just added a half round tab (to match the shape of the rubber discs I'm using to adjust heights) and drilled a hole.

I don't recall why I did it now. May have been to get more space for the clutch actuator, which I've since moved also? It's always something.

 

OK, so, you're pulling the clutch lever up instead of pushing it forward there?

Gotcha. I just welded a piece of angle iron inside the frame rail with the pivot bolted on to it. My pedal assembly has been moved inboard though whereas yours is in the stock location if I am not mistaken.

 

Ok, so here is a moment I know some of you have been waiting for. I rattle canned some primer and black lacquer on the driver side of the tub finally. Now we can start to see what's going on a little better without all the camouflage. And also, I pulled this chopped & filled 32 commercial shell from the parts pile for the B-Banger channeled T build that I've got stashed by the shed.

 

Still like the pointy nose best. It adds personality.

 

Absolutely, I do too. But I am not entirely pleased with it the way it sits now and I don't want it to push back the FIRST DRIVE DAY back while I struggle to get it just right. I may end up redoing it entirely.

 

I dunno think of it like boobs they are not all alike but look great just the same...aluminum is your best friend...that is aluminum right?...it's all part of the soul...you certainly can run it minus the nose while you perfect the desired look but what you have done to date looks fantastic...x2 for the Holey Grille

 

Thanks guys, I appreciate it. The nose and hood are actually all steel! And the hood is lumpy and a possibly a little crooked and definitely bowed. And the nose doesn't track the way it was intended, looks crooked now, and needs to be re-worked if not re-done. I may chip away at finding a solution to fix it on days that I want to work on something lightweight here and there, but I need to knock it closer to the back of the to-do list for now unfortunately.

And I will definitely not call this car "done" until I get it to work or make a new one like it. Don't worry.

 

I like the pointy nose. You made it you can fix it but it's your call. Probably if you work on something else the fix will come to you.

 

OK, so, the realization that it is time to deal with the engine is now fully upon me and I am feeling unprepared for the moment. The main issue that makes this a problem is that I have yet to be able to get the engine CLEAN. In the beginning, I wanted to avoid hot tanking it and just swap some components after a quick degreasing. I didn't do well with oven cleaner. I haven't tried Purple Power yet but a lot of this is caked on, waxy, oil, dirt, & Carbon buildup. I'm not sure how far I can get with a power wand with a soaper hooked to the garden hose and my hot water tank.

Then there is the issue of the Clutch! I have the original 11" clutch out of the 37 big truck and the big 4 speed. I need to hook up to the 39 transmission somehow and I am under the impression this won't entirely work and even if it does, will be a beast to run with these shortened pedals. If I throw money at this, what would I get from, say, the Speedway catalog?

I was able to solve one issue at least. I had ordered an offset clevis, but when it arrived, it did not fit, so I had to shorten a different clutch arm to get lined up. Unfortunately, even though I set it to the exact same length as the one I replaced, I am seeing the bushing peeking out about 3/16" so I am figuring I need to put some length back into it or put some offset into the pivot ball. But that has to wait until I get a clutch in there so I know the setup is appropriate.





I also got a hold of Corey at Rjay's and got some of their wishbone brackets on order. They are tapered from the flat side into the bung so I can tuck my bones in a bit more without rising frame contact. I got a set for my buddy's tudor build and they are head and shoulders above other sets I've gotten as far as quality.

They will replace these:


Once I hit that particular wall with the clutch and engine, I spent some time playing around with the F100 dash that I would like to incorporate into the car. I did some disassembly and cutting on it, which helped me clear my head. I do not think I want to graft this into the cowl like it looks like I am getting ready to do here; that's just the easiest way to hang it on there for now. I think I want to go more flush to the cowl and maybe do a bolt in mounting when I get around to it.

 

So much going on! it's good you can move from one thing to another to keep it moving. I like the dash. No one said it was going to be easy.

 

Did a lax cleanup and paintjob on my rear brakes then laid a rattlecan coat of white on the rear end and bones to see if I like it. I like it.





Also got a 10" flywheel from Prewarandmore and a matching clutch setup from Millworks Hot Rod yesterday. Now I can install that, allowing me to dial in my pedal setup and check that off the list.

Once that's done I will need to pull the engine to clean it and do my rebuild.

Gotta rebuild the front brakes at some point too. At least those plates are nicely painted already.

I have a few broad strokes I want to wrap up on the body before I feel comfortable blowing the car apart for finish welding and brake plumbing. I am starting to see a distant light in the distance.

 

Oh Yeah!

 

Pops, don't it?

 

Looking good Pat!
Yes, my clutch pulls instead of pushes.
I also run an 11" truck clutch with a 39 car transmission, it all went together fine. But I see you have a new set up so that's a mute point.
It looks by your pictures that you are pretty close to making the pedals work, just need a couple fancily fabricated arms.
You can clean your engine yourself. . ..
Get a tyvek suit, a few cans of Gunk engine cleaner, and a host of screwdrivers/scrapers. plan on 2-3hours in the lifter valley alone, good times.

 

Well, I tried a cleaning approach along those lines early on and didn't get the valley very clean. I was using dollar store oven cleaner iirc though. I have some Purple Power left that I may try but I am getting kindof tired of being held up by things just because they are dirty, cruddy, and rusty, with the end getting within sight now.

I considered trying the 11 inch clutch that came on the engine but I wasn't entirely sure it would work and if it did, I figured it may be an issue with the pedals being shortened. As for arms, I may be good to go with this setup but I will need to get the clutch in and then the MC to figure that out.